Animation Courses

• 3 units
• Usually offered in Fall

This foundation course teaches animation principles through basic techniques of stop-motion animation, including puppet fabrication, armatures, lighting setups and suspension rigs. The course will cover principles of movement and timing, lighting and cinematography, as well as development of film concepts created specifically for stop-motion.

• Software used: Monkey Jam or Dragonframe
• Equipment used: Two stop-motion stations, armatures, and puppet fabrication tools and supplies (located inside Animation Lab AT 104B)

By the end of the course students will be able to design expressive movements and create sequences of drawn character and effects animation. Assignments are focused around practicing the principles and include classic exercises such as the bouncing ball, 2D animation effects, walk cycle, plus others.

• Software used: Adobe CC Animate and Toon Boom Harmony are used for in-class exercises. TV Paint and Dragonframe (pencil tester) are also available for use.
• Equipment used: Windows desktop computers, digital drawing tablets, pencils, paper, high speed scanner, and two pencil testing stations (located inside Animation Lab AT 104A)

Students are given the opportunity to learn lip syncing, create sound effects, and create a full-body acting piece with dialog. By the end of the course, students will be able to create their own field and voice-over recordings, design and edit soundtracks for animated films, synchronize voice tracks to animated characters, and edit music cues to animated sequences.

• Software used: Adobe Audition and Adobe Premiere are used for in-class exercises. 
• Equipment used: Foley/ADR Room, field recorders and Windows desktop computer. Other equipment used will depend on the student's chosen animation medium.

• 3 units
• Advisory: FTV 67A (Formerly FTV 69A)
• Usually offered in Winter

This class focuses on the development of ideas for animated films and the creation of their visual design using storyboard technique. Assignments are centered around translating film concepts into visual images, selecting drawn camera angles and choosing a film editing style while in pre-production. Students may work together in groups and have the opportunity to work on developing ideas for a short personal film.

• Software used: None required. Students may use any program of their choice.
• Equipment used: Traditional media

This course explores basic modeling techniques, surface mapping, lighting, rendering and character rigging. Upon completing the course, students will be able to create 3D models of  hard-surface objects, characters and environments, and apply textures and lighting to create a polished cinematic still image. 

• Software used:  Autodesk Maya
• Equipment used: Windows desktop computer, digital drawing tablets

Upon completing the course, students will be able to create 3D models of hard-surface objects, characters and environments, and apply textures and lighting to create a polished cinematic still image.

• Software used: Autodesk Maya
• Equipment used: Windows desktop computer, digital drawing tablets

These three capstone courses give students the chance to apply knowledge gained from previous animation production classes (F/TV 66A - 71H) to create their own animated project. The three courses may be taken over the span of one academic year or over several years, depending on the student’s interests and progress.

Upon completion of the course sequence, students will have work that can be used in their demo reels and professional portfolios. Each course focuses on a stage of production:

• Pre-Production (72G) focuses on the creation of storyboards, set designs, character models, temp soundtracks and animatics
• Production (72H) focuses on producing the animation for the project
• Post-production (72J) focuses on finishing the animation, editing and compositing picture tracks, sound effects and musical score.

Students who choose to create animated films are encouraged to submit them to film festivals.

• Software available: Autodesk Suite, Adobe Creative Cloud Suite, TV Paint, Toon Boom Harmony, Dragonframe, Audition, Audacity, Sonicfire Pro, MonkeyJam
• Equipment available: Digital drawing tablets, Foley recording room, Animation Lab with animation drawing desks, pencil-testing stations and stop-motion equipment

• 4 units
• Advisory: EWRT 1A or EWRT 1AH or ESL 5
• Usually offered in Fall and Spring 
• This is a general elective (GE) course  

This is an international survey of the historical development of the animated film, from its origins to a contemporary art form, with emphasis on the contributions of studios and individual artists from around the world. The course investigates the aesthetic, technological, economic and social factors that contributed to the form, while examining the value systems reflected in and shaped by works from diverse cultures.

• Software used: N/A
• Equipment used: The course is taught in the FTV department's state-of-the-art theater, AT 120, with full surround sound and the capability to play films from around the world.